Harry Potter and The Year of Growth
by TheRealDarkLantern
Summary: Harry and the gangs 6th year. changes and some romance instore for the teens at hogwarts
1. Dealing With Pain and Loss

Harry Potter and The Year of Growth  
  
Disclaimer: you know the deal. I don't own any of this except the concept of this story  
  
Chapter One: Dealing With Pain and Loss  
  
"SIRIUS. NO"   
  
The boy named Harry Potter wakes up with sweat and tears running down his face. Glimpses of the event that had befallen Harry Potter play back in his mind from the dream. He wipes the sweat off his face and runs a hand through his long and disheveled hair.  
  
Harry stands up slowly from his bed and walks over to a new mirror that he put in there when he got back from school. He sighs as he looks in the mirror.  
  
His eyes are still the same, maybe more dull from the loss of life that he has seen over the years. His hair is now down to his shoulders; he hasn't felt like changing it.   
  
The Scar, as Harry calls, is still the same old curse scar that has been there as far as Harry remembers. Harry rubs his arms to shake off the creepy feeling that he has had whenever he has that dream about Sirius.  
  
Sirius Black. His uncle, the only one who truly loved Harry. Gone.. Dead. A victim of a war, that now the whole wizard world knew about. Killed by is own relative, one who Harry hopes he meets again. Harry wanted revenge. He never wanted some one to pay for their crime like he wanted for her. And of course.. Voldemort.  
  
Voldemort. He Must Not Be Named. The man/beast who took Harry's true family from him. If anyone needed to be stop. It was Voldemort. Harry thinks about all the times he has come face to face with him and survived. Harry chuckles to himself about his luck.  
  
A soft hoot comes from Harry's window. He walks over slowly as he lets his snowy owl Hedwig in. The bird flutters down to Harry's lap and drops a letter in his hand. He opens it slowly and sees that it is a letter from Professor Dumbledore, Headmaster at Hogwarts. The school Harry goes to. He opens it slowly and reads:  
  
Dear Harry:  
  
Due to the murder of your uncle, Sirius Black. You have now inherited all of his belongings, including a certain house that can not be mentioned. (Harry smiled as he remembers the house) When you turn 16 in a few days time, all that belonged to him will be yours. If you want to, which I know you will most likely want to. can move into the Black Manor. Precautions need to be taken if you decide to move into there. So I will need an answer from you when you decide. If you decide to, a representative will come to your uncle's house and take you there with all of your belongings.  
  
Sincerely  
  
Albus Dumbledore.  
  
Harry looked at the letter in disbelief. He was finally free to get away from his aunt and uncle. Harry went over to his school trunk and pulled out a quill, a peace of parchment and ink. He sat down at his desk and wrote:  
  
Dear Professor Dumbledore:  
  
  
  
My answer is yes. I will be delighted to move into Black manor.  
  
I will be ready when you get back in touch with me.  
  
Harry Potter  
  
Harry looked over at Hedwig.   
  
"Come here girl. I need you to send this to Professor Dumbledore for me right away"  
  
She hooted with great pride and flew out of the window with great speed. He watched out the window as Hedwig flew off. He walked over to his bed and lay down. His thoughts were happy until he realized that he was going to the house that his uncle once lived in. He sighed within himself. He was both happy and sad. He started to drift off to sleep again. His blank thoughts went to his two best friends, Ron and Hermione. His thoughts lingered on Hermione a little more than Ron did. He thought about her book smarts, her bushy brown hair, and that smile that made Harry get weird feelings in his stomach.  
  
Little did Harry know at the same moment. That same brown haired girl was thinking about the boy who lived.  
  
Next Chapter: Return to Black Manor  
  
Harry goes to his new home and decides on what to do with the place. maybe a visit by a certain red headed family  
  
Please review 


	2. Chapter Two: Return To Black Manor

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Harry Potter and The Year of Growth

Disclaimer: you know the deal. I don't own any of this except the concept of this story

**Chapter Two: Return to the Burrow**

"Two minutes to go" Harry Potter said to himself. He smiles as he waits on his bed. He thinks back on what is about to happen to him. He is going to be leaving the Dursley's and then moving into Black Manor.

"One minute" he says out loud again. He starts to get excited for the possibilities once he gets to his new home. He thinks of all of the fun and new things to find in his home.

Harry looks at his watch again. Just when it ticks over to 12:00 there is a light tapping on Harry's window. A big red phoenix stares at him.

"Fawlkes". Harry walks over to the window and opens it up and lets the bird in. The phoenix looks at him for a second and then places a letter in his hand. Harry opens it and it simply says Answer the Door.

Just as Harry finished the last sentence a soft but definable knock came from the downstairs door. He opens his door, hoping that the knock didn't wake the Dursley's. He walks slowly downstairs and unlocks the door. He slowly sticks his head out the door and hears a soft

"Bang, your dead Potter" Harry looks at the person. Its Professor Moody. Harry just shakes his head. Moody growls a little bit and says

"You never know what's going to happen to you Potter. Constant Vigilance!!!"

Harry looks at his and says " I don't think Voldemort or any Death Eaters would use Fawlkes as a messenger, or give me a note that says _open the door_"

A soft up familiar voice speaks up "He's got you there Alistor" Out from the shadows comes Remus Lupin. "Lo Harry"

Harry smiles at the man and runs at him and hugs him "Lo moony" A few tears leave Harry's eyes. Remus just pats his back a little. A soft cough comes from Moody. "I think we need to get going"

Harry and Lupin both nod as Harry lets go of him. Harry starts to walk back inside. Remus puts a hand on Harry's shoulder. 

"Don't worry about it Harry. Its already been taken care of" He points to the sky as Harry sees Fawlkes flying away with what looks like Harry's stuff. Hedwig fly's out the window and drops a cloak and Harry's wand to him. Harry smiles as Hedwig flies away.

"Let's go" says Harry as he puts on his cloak and pockets his wand. Harry then stops and looks at the guys. "Umm how are we getting there"?

Lupin smiles and pulls out old pocket watch. Harry looks at it and then realizes what it is. He shakes his head and says " OH NO.. No portkey" Lupin smiles as Moody shakes his head. 

"For someone who seems like he is always in danger, you sure are a wimp" growls Moody. 

Harry shakes his head " fine, lets go" Lupin shakes his head and starts to walk down the street. Harry follows him while Moody follows Harry. About two blocks away, Lupin stops and brings out the watch again. 

"Are you ready Harry" Harry nods as he takes a hold of the portkey? Harry feels the familiar tug at his navel. He closes his eyes and then feels ground beneath his feet again. He sighs as he looks at the two guys next to him.

"Remember the way to get in Harry?" Harry shakes his head and focuses his thoughts on Number 12, Grimmauld Place. Harry looks up and sees the door that he once had traveled through. 

"After you Potter" says moody. Harry sighs and walks to the door. He touches the handle. It glows a soft green and Harry hears it unlock. He opens it slowly and pushes the door open. The soft candlelight shines over the Black Manor. Harry puts his hands over his ears waiting for Mrs. Black to start yelling. A hand comes over Harry's shoulder. Harry jumps a little.

"Sorry Harry about that scare. But we finally got rid of Mrs. Black. Its now Potter Manor" Harry shakes his head " it will always be Black Manor. For Sirius" Lupin nods his head.

"Well Harry. Your stuff is up in the main bedroom all the way up stairs to the main hallway and the bedroom at the far end." Harry nods and hugs Lupin. He smiles at Harry " I hope I will see you again Remus" Remus smiles again.

" Goodbye Potter" Moody holds out his hand. Harry shakes it "good to see you sir" Moody nods his head and Lupin and Moody turn to walk out the door

"Oh Professor Moody?' says Harry

"What is it Potter?" Moody turns around to see Harry wand in his face.

"Bang. Constant Vigilance!" Harry smiles at him as Lupin holds back a laugh. Moody laughs out loud.

" Now you are learning Potter. Good show" Moody turns to walk out with Lupin as Lupin lightly punches Moody's arm. Harry hears a soft " he got you"

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Harry slowly opens the door to the main bedroom, his room. The candles turn on as Harry walks into the room. He looks around the room. It is a light green color. There is a big bed in the middle with four posts sticking out at each corner. On the right side there is his trunk and Hedwig's cage sitting on top of it. The owl is sleeping in her cage. In the left side is a bookshelf with many books on magic. Next to the bookshelf is a closet so Harry can put his stuff in.

The thing that caught Harry's eye the most is the two Katannas hanging over Harry's bed on a mantel. They were both about 3 feet long with red and black handles. He walked up to the swords and places a hand on one of the handles. He slowly pulled lightly on the handle to see if it would come loose. The sword slid silently out of its sheath. Harry placed two hands on the handle and looked at the blade of the sword. It shown brightly like it had its own light. Harry felt natural when he held the blade. He tested its weight and it was light as a feather. He put the sword back and sat on his bed.

He sighed again as he lay back in the bed. Before he knew it, his eyes were closed and he was fast asleep. He once again dreamt of Dumbledore's Army and the fight that took Sirius' life. He saw Bellatrix Lestrange's smiling face after she killed Sirius. He wanted to take her life. He wanted to run after her, but all he could hear was Hermione's voice keep saying "Harry"

" Harry. Harry, wake up mate"

Harry slowly opened his eyes. At first all he saw was a red blur. As his eyes focused it turned into one of Harry's best friends, Ron Weasley.

"Ron.. Holy Shit. Don't scare me like that. Other than that. Great to see you" Harry smiled at Ron and got up from his bed

"How did you get here?" Harry looked at Ron while he looked around the room.

"Her" Ron said as he pointed to the door while still looking around Harry's room.

Harry looked over at the door to see Mrs. Weasley walking into the room.

"Harry its wonderful to see you. We already knew that you were going to move here. So we cleaned it up and painted and cleared things out for you. So don't worry about anything. So come on down stairs and have a spot of breakfast" she said really fast while hugging Harry. Ron turned around at the mention of breakfast and ran downstairs. Harry just laughs.

Harry walks down stairs after he changed his clothes. He walks to the kitchen and opens the door. He is shocked by all the people in the kitchen. There sits the whole Weasley clan minus Charley, Bill and Percy. Also sat someone who shocked Harry. It was Neville Longbottom who was sitting close to Ginny. His eyes then went onto the one person who Harry wanted to see the most. Hermione Granger. He just smiled at all the people in the room who were just eating and talking. He walked slowly forward and said

" I really need to get those locks changed" He smiled at all the people who just turned to look at Harry standing there, who now had a big smile on his face. A loud symphony on "Harry's" were yelled at him as some people stood up to shake his hand and hug him. The twins both shook his hand, as did Mr. Wesley. Neville looked at him and smiles nervously. Harry waved at him and smiled again, which settled him. Ginny hugged him too. Hermione almost tackled him, she hugged him that hard. She looked him in the eye and whispered an "I missed you" she then kissed him on the cheek. No one saw this part. Lucky for Harry.

Harry sat down with his family and had a nice breakfast. He talked to each of them, asking them how they were and what was going on. The one that shocked Harry the most was that Ginny and Neville were dating. After breakfast. Mrs. Weasley told both Ron and Hermione that they both could stay if it was all right with Harry. Harry of course said yes and even invited Ginny and Neville to stay. Which they both said yes to.

Mr. and Mrs. Weasley both said bye, as did the twins. Mrs. Weasley told them to behave and have fun. After they left Harry looked at them and took them on a tour on his new house. He showed them the big bathroom that reminded Harry of the prefect bathroom at Hogwarts. He showed them a room that a big library. Hermione's eyes had opened wide when she saw the big library. He then took them to the room that even Harry's mouth opened to. It was a training room with weights and a ring to spare in. at the far way was a wall that was full of weapons from swords to bows to Sais. Ron drooled over the room.

Harry and the gang finally finished the tour of the Manor around 8:00 p.m. The teens settled in the main living room to hang out and relax. Everyone eventually drifted off to sleep. Ginny fell asleep in Neville's arms. Ron fell asleep in the armchair. Hermione ended up falling asleep on Harry's shoulder. All he did was smile and fall asleep too. 

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Next chapter: Fun in Diagon Alley

The gang goes to buy their school stuff. And there is an appearance of out favorite Slytherin.

Please Review

Thanks: The Dark Lantern


	3. Chapter Three: Fun in Diagon Alley

Chapter Three: Fun in Diagon Alley  
  
Thanks for all that reviewed. And lets remember kids, I don't own Harry or anyone. I think. The bother part of the story did not come from me. it came from a movie.  
  
Ok. Everyone Listen Up.. This chapter is dedicated to my own personal Hermione. Dana. this one is for you kitten.  
  
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A big yawn escapes Harry's mouth as his eyes fully start to open. He opens then fully to see 4 sets of eyes staring at him.  
  
"AAAAHHHHHH" screams Harry. A scream comes out of his shocked friend's mouths.  
  
"Stop doing that" yawns Harry. He then looks at them. They all have great big smiles on their faces.  
  
"What?" He cocks an eye again. Hermione looks at the others and nods.  
  
"Happy Late Birthday Harry Potter" screams everyone in his ear.  
  
"What the hell. Who am I. Charlie Brown?" says Harry to Hermione.  
  
Ron looks at Harry and said deadpan to him "who's Charlie Brown?"  
  
"Good grief" moans Harry. Hermione just giggles again as Neville pulls Harry out of his bed.   
  
"Come on Harry, we have a surprise for you." They pull Harry out of his bed. Hermione and Ginny leave to let Harry change. They then pull Harry down to the training room that they went to before.   
  
"Ok you big prat. close your eyes" Ron says to Harry. He closes his eyes and waits, and waits and waits.   
  
"OK. Open them" he slowly opens his eyes to see a two practice dummies. One dressed up as Malfoy and the other one dress up like Voldemort. Harry had to hold on to his knees to stop himself from falling over from laughter.   
  
"HA.. Thanks you guys" Harry says as Ron claps a hand on his shoulder.  
  
"You get the first hit Harry" Ron says to him.  
  
Harry slowly strolls over to the Malfoy dummy. He looks him up and down. He then stands right in front of the dummy. He cocks his head and the places a very hard kick right in the crouch area of the dummy. At the same time as the kick landed, Ron and Neville winced.  
  
"Damn Harry" both said in unison. Harry just strolled over to them and looked at them in the eye. "Damn that felt good" he sighed to him. He then walked over to Ginny and gave her a slight hug. "Thank you Ginny" she smiled at him. He turned to Hermione and he then felt a hard SMACK on his ass. He turned around and looked at Ginny.  
  
"Someone had to spank the birthday boy" the others just started laughing at Harry as he massaged his bottom.  
  
He now turned to Hermione and hugged her. He felt that she hugged him more than she would ever had. He also thought he saw her wink at him. Hermione's eyes all of a sudden eyes went round.  
  
"Harry I think you have another present" Hermione said softly as she pointed towards the wall of weapons. In the middle was something wrapped up in a cloth. Harry as well as everyone else walked over to the wall. He slowly picked up the clothed object. It felt light but strong in his hands. He slowly started to unwrap it. As the object was almost about to be shown. A note popped up in the cloth. Harry read the note out loud.  
  
" Dear Mr. Potter,  
  
I believe this finally belongs to you  
  
Dumbledore"  
  
Harry finally unwraps the object. Its the Sword of Gryffindor.  
  
A cascade of whispered "holy shit" rang through the room.  
  
Harry held it in his hands again. He felt the same weight and the all to familiar strength of it. He could feel it grow in his hands until it looked like one of the swords up in his bedroom. Everyone continued to look at the sword.   
  
"Harry, is that?" asked Ginny. Harry just nodded. He slowly put it up in the wall where there was a spot for it. They all stepped away from it and continued to look at it.   
  
"Well. who wants breakfast" said Hermione which made everyone else jump and then laughed.  
  
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(Later that afternoon)  
  
Mrs. Weasley showed up around 1:00 while Harry and Ron were playing chess, Harry of course losing. Ginny was cuddled up next to Neville and Hermione had her nose in a book. None of them noticed Mrs. Weasley.   
  
"HEM HEM" Mrs. Weasley cleared her throat. A second later all of them screamed and stood up and looked at her. they all looked shocked and scared. A big sigh of relief was made when they saw it was Mrs. Weasley. There was a sight smile on her face  
  
"Ok everyone. its time to go to Diagon Alley" she said politely.  
  
Ron was first to floo to Diagon Alley, then Hermione, and then Ginny, then Neville and at last Harry. Harry stood up and dusted himself off.  
  
They first visited the books store, which made Hermione smile every much. While Mrs. Weasley got all the books. The teens wandered the store. The Trio were walking down an aisle when Ron stopped and placed a hand to both stop Hermione and Harry. He pointed his head down the aisle. There stood Draco Malfoy. Ron's eyes sparkled as they saw that his back was turned. Ron looked at Harry and then whispered something into his ear. Harrys face broke into a wide smile. He then nodded. They both started to walk slowly towards him.   
  
"What are you doing" whispered Hermione.  
  
"We are going to go bother him" snickered Ron.  
  
They both stood right behind Malfoy. Harry nodded to Ron and they both started to bump and slightly push Malfoy around while saying "BOTHER, BOTHER, BOTHER, BOTHER, BOTHER." They then ran out of the store, while Malfoy looked around wondering what happened.  
  
Ginny, and then Neville came running out laughing out loud. The Trio were already laughing hard.  
  
"God that was great" said Ron. They all stopped laughing as Mrs. Weasley came walking out. They spent the rest of the day going through various stores getting what they need for Hogwarts. They then flooed back to The Manor where Mrs. Weasley made supper for them before they left. After dinner, they all retired to there rooms. As Ron, Ginny and Neville were walking up the stairs. A hand pulled Harry back down the stairs. It was Hermione.  
  
"Did you have a good birthday Harry" said Hermione.  
  
Harry smiled at her "Of course I did" Hermione looked at him again and hugged him. she then looked at him and said  
  
"I have one more present for you" she said to him  
  
" Oh yeah? wha..." Harry's words were cut off by Hermione kissing him softly on the lips. He was tense for a second, but then he relaxed and placed his hands on her back. The kiss lasted for 10 seconds but it felt like 10 minutes to Harry. Hermione pulled away and whispered into his ear "Happy late birthday" he just swallowed while she walked up the stairs. Giving Harry a good sway of her hips as she walked. He just walked back up to his room and slowly laid in his bed. He closed his eyes and dreamt of the best 10 seconds ever.  
  
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Next Chapter: Training Begins  
  
Harry and the gang come to a decision. and Harry and Hermione get caught kissing by someone.  
  
Until then, I Remain. The Real Dark Lantern  
  
please review.   
  
and remember this chapter goes to Dana. the kitten who I love 


	4. Chapter Four: Training Begins

I know I haven't updated in a long time. Sorry. Shit happens. On with the story.

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Chapter Four : Training Begins.

A yawn escapes Harry's mouth as he slowly opens his eyes. He licks his lips and thinks about the kiss that Hermione gave him last night. He pulls back his cover of his bed and puts his feet on the ground. He winces because the floor is kind of cold. He slowly pads his way into his bathroom and looks at his face. Its kind of gaunt and pale with the hint of whiskers on his face.

"Harry old' boy. You need some sun" he says to himself while he rubs his chin.

He slowly starts to undress and steps into the shower. As he turns on the water, an idea pops into his head. As he lathers up with the soap his plan is fully made. He steps out of the shower and places a towel around his waist. He strolls room not looking around and going straight to his dresser. When he drops his towel he hears a gasp and a kind of cough. He turns around really quick to see Hermione sitting on his bed. She closes her eyes really quick as Harry realizes that he is still naked.

"oh Harry, I'm so sorry. I didn't know you were going to walk out here naked" she says while a big red blush goes across her face.

"its no big deal. don't worry about it" he snickers to himself while he puts on his boxers, some jeans and a shirt that says "I hear voices and they don't like you".

He and Hermione walk down the stairs into the kitchen to see Ron and Neville talking about going back to school while secretly Neville and Ginny are playing footsy under the table. Harry just snickers a little bit as he walks in with Hermione.  
Everyone says their good mornings and start to eat breakfast. Harry eats his last bite and sets his fork down.

" I have come to a decision. I have decided to train myself to fight against Voldemort. I don't know if you want to or not. But it would be nice to have someone to train with" he looks around at each of them as he says this.

Ron speaks first "you think you are going to keep me out of this. Hell no. I'm with you"

"count me in Harry" comes from Hermione. A cadence of hell yeas and yes came from Ginny and Neville.

"good" came from Harry. "but first. I think we need to clean up first and you guys should go tell your parents that you are staying here the rest of the summer"

They all nodded and all of them went to the fire place. Each tossed some floo powder in and went to there homes, except for one person. Hermione

"um Hermione. Why are you still here" asks Harry as he cocks his head to the side.

"I already told my parents I was staying here the rest of the summer. Duh" she smiles at him and winks a little as she slowly walks up to him. She smile at him as she raps her arms around his waist.

"alone at last" she purrs in his ear. He shivers a little at her soft feminine voice.  
He backs up slowly as he walks towards him. He notices a cute switch in her hips.  
He looks at the hungry look in her eye and for the first time sees how she has grown up.

"gulp" he says while backing up. His legs hit something and he turns his head to see that he has backed up into a big comfy chair. He turns his head back to her and sees her right up next to him.

"have you ever notice how cute you are?" she says while tracing his chin with her finger. She puts a hand to his chest and pushes him into the chair. He lands with a oof. She crawls into his lap and straddles him.

"um Hermione, what are you doing" he asks while sweat drops fall from his head. She runs her finger through his hair and whispers

"what I have been wanting to do for awhile" she then puts her lips to Harry's and gives his soft kisses on his lips. He puts his head back and looks at her

"maybe we should think about this, I mean this is a big thing" she just sighs and looks at him.

"think? Aren't you the person who jumps into things without thinking?" she says to him

He pauses for a moment "Good poi.." the last part of his word is cut off by Hermione kissing him again. He slowly runs his hands up her back while then kiss passionately. She rocks back and forth on his lap softly as she opens her mouth and they touch tongues for the first time. He slowly traces circles on her back with his fingers. He then tries to be brave and slowly moves his hands towards her butt. He hesitates at the top and tires again but stops. Hermione grrs at him and grabs his hands and forcefully puts his hands on her ass. She attacks his lips again while he kneads her butt with his hands. She moans softly into his mouth and starts to rock back and forth a little more. He breaks away from her lips and starts to put gentle kisses on her neck. She moans into his hair.  
"touch me Harry"

He slowly starts to move his hand up her shirt. He stops at her belly button and tickles it a little. She squirms in his lap and giggles into his neck as she places a few kisses of her own on his neck. He reaches the bottom of her bra. She arches her back as he slowly works his way under neither to cup her supple breast. She moans as his hand massages her weighty breast and pinches her nipple. She starts to kiss him again. He takes his other hand and places it on the other breast. He is about to undo her bra when they both hear something that neither of them excepted.

"look at this. A cornucopia of love" came the sarcastic remark from Severus Snape.

They both move off the chair quickly as Hermione fixes her shirt and bra.

"uhh professor. We..uhh.. We" stuttered Harry.

"I don't care what you were doing. This is your house. But I come at the request of Dumbledore. He is asking you if they may hold a meeting of the order here" asks Snape.

"of course. that's not problem" Harry says. He turn to look at Hermione who is blushing bright red and looking at her feet while her moves the toe of her foot on the ground.

"they will be here in one hour. Try to keep your hands off each other" Snape says as he walks towards the door.

A big sigh of relief comes from both of them as Harry plops back down on the chair. Hermione cuddles up into his laps and rests her head on his shoulder. Harry kisses her forehead and looks at her.

"would you like to be my girlfriend. I mean. you don't have to if you don't want to" Harry whispers to her. She just turns her head towards him and places a soft kiss on his lips.

"what do you think" she says back to him.

"is that a no" he laughs as he says it. She grabs a pillow off the chair and bops him on the head.

"silly" she says and puts her head back on his shoulder.

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Next chapter. The order meeting. Telling Ron and Harry finds a new toy.  
Please review. Until then, I remain The Dark Lantern 


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